


The Alterverse

by sbdrag



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark, M/M, OC, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-23
Updated: 2012-07-31
Packaged: 2017-11-10 12:51:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/466491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sbdrag/pseuds/sbdrag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a garganta ten times as strong as the norm, a girl named Tiamut Bast appears. She claims to be a revizard (aka reverse vizard) of the resistance against Sosuke Aizen. She's a lieutenant under fellow revizard Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, and they are led by Kurosaki Ichigo.</p>
<p>But, Ichigo has already defeated Aizen, and certainly isn't leading any resistance. So, who is Tiamut, and where did she come from...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tiamut Bast

Ichigo jumped forward, slicing through the hallow’s mask without effort. It disappeared, and he waited a moment before straightening. He sighed, resting Zangetsu on his shoulder. This was the fifteenth one today, and they seemed to just keep coming. It wasn’t like it was too difficult, since they were all low level hallows, but… Kurosaki didn’t understand where they were all coming from. Especially when some of them looked kind of familiar…

Ichigo flinched, then whirled around as a garganta opened up behind him At least, it looked like a garganta, but… there was almost ten times the amount of energy of a normal garganta. Ichigo braced himself against it, pulling Zangetsu to the ready for whatever appeared…

A girl stumbled out, falling to the ground hard. She was panting, covered in blood and bruises. The biggest wound seemed to be a large gash in her side that she was pressing her hand to. She had a sword in her hand, and wore a shihakusho. The garganta closed behind her, and she seemed to be a bit delirious. 

“Shit…”

As Ichigo approached her, he saw that her eyes were glazed over. She was struggling on the ground, but it was hard to tell what she was trying to do. She managed to writhe onto her back, and Ichigo lowered Zangetsu as he leaned down next to her in shock. She squinted up at him blearily.

“…Kuro…saki…?” she asked, and Ichigo flinched in surprise. Before he had a chance to ask, the girl’s eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out. Ichigo stared dumbly for a minute, then sheathed Zangetsu and carefully picked the girl up. She whimpered.

“…shit,” he said, then took off for Urahara’s shop, hoping he made it in time…

***

“I don’t recognize her, but with how long I’ve been gone, there are plenty of new faces in Seireitei,” Urahara said, putting a damp washcloth on the girl’s forehead. She was feverish and muttering in her sleep, but all her wounds had been cleaned and wrapped, so all there was to do now was wait. They’d put a message out to Soul Society, but no one had been reported missing. 

“It’s very strange,” Rukia said, worn out from using kido on the girl’s larger injuries. “I don’t recognize her either, but her reiatsu feels somewhat familiar, doesn’t it?”

“I agree,” Urahara said. Ichigo was off fighting more hallows that had appeared, leaving the girl to the shopkeeper and shinigami. “But there’s something… off about it, as well. It reminds me of a vizard, yet there seems to be some kind of disconnect.”

“You’re right,” Rukia said. “When I was trying to heal her, it was as if my kido kept slipping off. I had to force it work, or I would have been able to do more.”

“It’s all very strange…” Urahara said. Suddenly, the girl gasped and opened her eyes wide. Urahara and Rukia jumped in surprise, and the girl leapt to her feet and away. She drew her zanpakuto, panting as she glared around the room. Rukia and Urahara made to get to her feet, but suddenly the girl paused. She seemed confused, lowering her weapon as she stared at both of them.

“Urahara and Kuchiki…? But… I don’t understand… why do you two look so…” the girl stopped midsentence, her legs giving out on her. Rukia rushed to her side, but Urahara staid back, eyes calculating.

“Hey! Don’t wear yourself out, you’re injured,” Rukia said, supporting the girl on one side. The girl, refusing to let go of her sword, stared dumbly as the shinigami helped her back to the futon she’d been resting on. Consciousness slipping, she stared up at her saviors through half-lidded eyes.

“Kuchiki-san… what… happened…?” she asked, and slipped away again. Rukia stared, dumbstruck and horrified, as if she’d seen a ghost. Urahara made her flinch when he put a hand on her shoulder. He gave her a reassuring look.

“We’ll know more when she’s had time to rest,” he said. Rukia swallowed, then nodded, backing away.

“I’m returning to Seireitei to report this,” she said, and Urahara nodded. Pulling out his fan, he sat down next to the girl. He replaced the fallen washcloth, watching the girl with interest.

“Just who are you…?” he wondered. 

***

“Hey, any improvement?” Ichigo asked, stepping into the back of the shop. He blinked in surprise. “Oh, hey Unohana-taichou.”

“Good evening, Kurosaki-san,” Unohana said. She had the girl’s head resting in her lap, using kido to finish healing her. The girl was calm and peaceful for the first time since she had mysteriously appeared, and that at least was a relief. 

“So, who is she?” Ichigo asked, walking in and sitting down next to Urahara. The shopkeeper shrugged.

“We still don’t know. There’s no record of her in Seireitei,” he said. Ichigo blinked, then looked around the room. 

“Well, that explains why everyone’s here…” he said. There was Unohana, Renji, Rukia, Byakuya, Shinji and Ukitake and his lieutenants.

“Captain Commander wanted to find out who she was as quickly as possible, so he sent Unohana and a couple Captains to question her,” Shinji said, shrugging. Ichigo scratched the back of his head.

“Well, I understand Unohana, but why are the rest of you here? It seems kind of like overkill, don’t you think?” he asked. Renji snorted.

“That’s what I thought, but have you tried feeling her reiatsu?” he asked. “It’s all unbalanced. If she wakes up and starts trying to fight the way she did last time, she could do a ton of damage just by throwing her reiatsu around on accident.”

“We’re only here as a precaution,” Ukitake said, smiling pleasantly. “Hopefully, things won’t turn out that way, and we’ll be unnecessary.”

“Oh, I see, I guess,” Ichigo said, turning his attention back to the girl. The question was on everyone’s mind. Just who was she…?

“The healing is done, I’m waking her up now,” Unohana said. There were various acknowledgements, and the captain nodded before using her kido to gently wake the girl up. 

The girl blinked, then opened her eyes wide and sat straight up. She looked around in a panic, reaching for her missing zanpakuto. 

“Calm down, you’re alright,” Urahara said, and the girl’s head whipped around to look at him. She panted for a few moments, looked scared as all hell, and then her eyes fell on Ichigo. He flinched as she stared, and gradually she calmed down. Then after a moment, she glared.

“Who are you?” she demanded. Everyone stopped.

“Who am I?” Ichigo asked. “Shouldn’t that be my line? I mean, you seemed to know me when you first showed up.”

“No! That was…” the girl sighed in frustration, covering her eyes with her hand. “I mistook you for someone else, okay?”

“Who? I don’t know a lot of guys named Kurosaki with this hair color,” Ichigo said, starting to get irritated.

“Ichigo…” Rukia said, a warning. Ichigo sighed, and the girl looked at Rukia. She pointed.

“And you! Who are you, and why do you like Kuchiki-san?” she asked. Rukia blinked.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean,” she said. “I’m Kuchiki Rukia.”

“No! You can’t be! That’s-!”

“Don’t raise your voice to a member of the Kuchiki family like that,” Byakuya said. The girl had to twist to see him. When she looked at him and Unohana, her eyes grew impossible wide and she scrambled away.

“No… but… you two are…”

“Please, young miss, calm down…” Ukitake said from where he was seated. The girl turned to stare at him.

“Ukita… no! No, this… this isn’t real!” she yelled, pulling her knees to her chest and burying her head in them. “It… it’s just a dream… or… or one of Aizen’s illusions…”

Everyone in the room flinched at the name. Slowly, like approaching a wounded animal, Ichigo got up and crouched in front of the girl.

“Aizen was defeated,” he said. The girl flinched.

“You’re lying, that’s just what you want me to believe,” she said, muffled. Ichigo sighed in irritation.

“Listen, I almost lost all my shinigami powers beating that guy, I should know that it happened,” he said. The girl very slowly titled her head up just enough to look his in the eye.

“You defeated him? When?” she asked. Ichigo blinked, then thought.

“After he’d fused with the Hogyoku and was trying to destroy Karakura,” he said. The girl paused a moment, seeming conflicted. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. She considered a moment more before asking her next question.

“And what about Grimmjow Jeagerjaques?” she asked. Ichigo’s eyes widened marginally in surprise.

“I defeated him before I beat Aizen,” Ichigo said. The girl bit her lip.

“Why?”

“Because he was working for Aizen…?” Ichigo said, not sure what the girl was after. She seemed to debate a moment before uncurling slightly.

“And you’ve never met me before?” she asked. Ichigo blinked.

“No,” he said. “Should I have?”

The girl sighed.

“I don’t know.”

“Who are you?” Ichigo asked. The girl glanced around the room. Everyone’s eyes were on her. She returned her gaze to Ichigo.

“My name is Tiamut Bast, revizard and a fukutaichou of the resistance,” she said. 

“The resistance?” Ichigo asked, shifting as Urahara moved to sit next to him.

“The resistance against who?” the shopkeeper asked. The girl fixed them both with a hard stare.

“The resistance against Sosuke Aizen.”

“Get real,” Renji said, making everyone jump in surprise. 

“I’m serious!” Tiamut said, glaring. 

“We already said Aizen was defeated, so how could you expect us to believe that?” Renji continued, crossing his arms.

“I’m telling the truth, dammit!” Tiamut yelled, slamming her fist into the ground hard enough to break through the floor. 

“Alright, let’s just calm down…” Urahara said, looking at the hole in consternation. 

“He fucking started it!” Tiamut yelled, pointing at Renji. The redhead flinched, then glared.

“I was just asking how you expected us to believe something so stupid!”

“So, what? You just assume someone you just met is lying?” Tiamut stood, all five foot two inches of her. Renji moved to glare down at her.

“I’m not just gonna believe some bullshit-“

“Abarai.”

Renji flinched, then looked over his shoulder at Byakuya. The man had a look on his face that let the redhead immediately know he was in trouble.

“Yes, taichou…?”

“Do not engage in such childish behavior,” the captain said. Renji frowned, but backed off.

“Yes, Kuchiki-taichou.”

“…I kind of see it now,” Tiamut said, looking at Byakuya as if seeing someone else. The captain looked back, but said nothing.

“What do you mean?” Ichigo asked. Tiamut flinched, then shook her head.

“Nothing,” she said, sitting down and looking around the room again. She was still wary, but far less tense than she had been.

“You mentioned a revizard,” Shinji said, drawing the attention of the room. “What did you mean?”

“Well, it’s short for ‘reverse-vizard’,” Tiamut said, looking bored. 

“Reverse… what do you mean?” Shinji asked, face flickering from shock to anger. Tiamut gave him a level stare.

“I’m an Arrancar that was infused with shinigami reiatsu.”

“Impossible!” Shinji said, more in shock than anything. “Who would do such a thing…?”

“Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Szayel Apporo Granz,” she said. “Szayel was the first one, and then they did it to me’n Grimmjow, so Kurosaki kicked them out cause they didn’t ask us first and it hurt like a bitch, and then while they were exiled they did it to Ulquiorra, too.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘Kurosaki kicked them out’…?” Ichigo asked. Tiamut sighed, trying not to look at anyone in the room while fidgeting.

“Kurosaki Ichigo is the leader of the resistance,” she said. “Under him are Kuchiki Rukia-taichou, Ukitake Jyuushiro-taichou, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques-taichou, Hirako Shinji-taichou, Urahara Kisuke-taichou and Abarai Renji-taichou. Under them are me, Matsumoto Rangiku-fukutaichou, Ichimaru Gin-fukutaichou, Aikawa Love-fukutaichou, Outoribashi Roujuurou-fukutaichou and Ulquiorra Schiffer-fukutaichou.”

“What about the rest of the Gotei 13?’ Ukitake asked, surprising everyone. The man wore a serious expression, and Tiamut glanced at him then shook her head.

“What? What does that mean?” Renji asked. 

“Abarai-“

“Are you saying they all died?” Renji continued, ignoring his captain. Everyone was silent, waiting for Tiamut’s answer. The girl took a deep breath, but kept her gaze at the ground.

“Yes. Where I’m from, those are the only members of the Gotei 13 that survived Aizen’s attack.”

“Where did you come from?” Urahara asked quietly, trying not to unsettle the tension in the room. Tiamut bit her lip, then looked miserably up at the man.

“I don’t know.”


	2. Alterverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the members of the alterverse are doing in Tiamut's absence.

“Let me go! You fucker, I need to get back out there! I need to-“

“Jeagerjaques-taichou, please, calm down…” Kurosaki Yuzu, now fifteen years old, stood blocking the door that lead out of Urahara’s shop. She held her hands up, trying to be pacifying. Grimmjow struggled against the hold of Karin and Jinta, badly injured with half his face covered in blood. Despite his obviously weakened state, Karin and Jinta were panting and sweating trying to hold him back.

“Calm down? Calm down!? Fucking Tiamut is out there beat up as hell and you want me to clam down?” Grimmjow demanded, continuing to struggle. “If I can just get to her-“

“You will be in the same situation she is.”

Grimmjow paused, but Karin and Jinta didn’t relax quite yet. Yuzu looked over the taller man’s shoulder.

“Ulquiorra-fukutaichou…” she said in surprise. Ulquiorra stepped into the room, and Grimmjow didn’t move an inch. The dark-haired man put a hand on Grimmjow’s shoulder.

“Come back and let me heal your injuries, or you will be of no use to her even if you do manage to find her,” he said, then turned and walked back. Grimmjow panted a moment, then straightened slowly. Karin and Jinta tentatively released him. The revizard captain stood a moment, then spat and turned on his heel. When he had left the room for a few moments, the three collectively sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness that’s over…” Yuzu said.

***

“Can you work faster?” Grimmjow complained. Ulquiorra impassively continued healing the taller man’s injuries.

“If I work faster, I will wear myself out, and then I won’t be able to heal anyone else,” he said. 

“Like you care,” Grimmjow said, looking off to the side. Ulquiorra’s eyes flicked up. In a moment, he forced Grimmjow to face him so he could heal the cut on the side of his head.

“Kurosaki does,” Ulquiorra said without a hint of inflection. Grimmjow flinched, then sighed. 

“You don’t have to heal all of them, I’ve had worse,” he said.

“I am aware,” Ulquiorra said. “I haven’t been healing all of them.”

“Bastard…” Grimmjow said, but it was halfhearted at best. The two flinched when the door to the makeshift medical room was opened. When they saw it was Ichigo, they relaxed.

“I heard about what happened,” Kurosaki said. Ulquiorra looked between the two men, then got up and left quietly. Neither seemed to notice.

“… sorry, I guess,” Grimmjow said. Ichigo shook his head.

“Don’t apologize, I understand,” he said. “If it were Yuzu or Karin…”

“Yeah…”

For some long moments, no one spoke.

“So what happened?” Grimmjow asked. Ichigo sighed.

“Aizen was trying to follow Tiamut through the garganta back here. She caught on to it, and Shinji and Urahara tried to redirect it but… it looks like Tiamut had the same idea, and the result caused a flux in the time space, sending her to an unknown location.”

“Is that how Urahara put it?” Grimmjow asked. Ichigo sighed again.

“That obvious?”

“If I don’t understand it, I doubt you did.”

“Well, basically, as Shinji put it, they were trying to move Tiamut from point A to point B. Shinji and Urahara tried to get her to point C, but she tried to force her way out of the garganta to point D. When the paths to points B, C and D hit, it sent her spiraling off to point X.”

“Wait… why X?”

“It stands for an unknown variable.”

“But I mean, why not E? Doesn’t that make more sense?”

“I’m quoting. Taking it up with Shinji if you want.”

“Whatever. So… we have no idea where she is?”

“No.”

“And she could be out there, all alone, dying, right now?”

“… it’s a possibility.”

“And you expect me to just sit here?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Ichigo said. He held up a hand to stop Grimmjow from speaking. “If it were me, I’d be doing the same thing you are. But rushing out without a plan, without even knowing where she is, or how to get there-“

“This is bullshit!” Grimmjow said, jumping to his feet. He glared, and Ichigo met his gaze levelly. “If it were Karin or Yuzu, you’d already be out there searching every damn dimension you could find regardless of whether or not you knew where they were!”

“Grimmjow-“

“No, don’t fucking lie to me!” Grimmjow said, grabbing Ichigo by the front of his shihakusho and hauling him to his feet. “Would you or would you not be out there right now?”

“Jeagerjaques-taichou!” Ichigo said, glaring. Grimmjow grit his teeth, then pushed Ichigo away. He made to storm out, throwing the door open. “You are not to leave the shop. That’s an order.”

“Fuck you,” Grimmjow spat, tearing down the hallway. Ichigo sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. He had expected as much, but he had hoped to be wrong just this once.

“Kurosaki.”

Ichigo looked to see Ulquiorra standing to one side of the door. Ichigo sighed again, then walked out of the room. Ulquiorra watched him a moment before stepping in and closing the door behind him.

***

Grimmjow dropped straight through the hole to the underground training facility, ignoring the ladder. He stalked through the camp for the survivors of Aizen’s takeover, while everyone tried not to catch his eye. 

“Oi, Jeagerjaques-“

“Fuck off,” Grimmjow said, brushing past Gin. The shinigami watched him a moment, then sighed and shrugged. The revizard didn’t notice, continuing on into the vast underground space. He came to a door in the wall, and jabbed numbers into the keypad next to it.

“Welcome, Jeagerjaques-taichou,” it was Urahara’s automated voice that came from the keypad. “Where would you like to go?”

“The waterfall,” Grimmjow snapped, and after a moment there was a click as the door unlocked.

“When you want to return, simply-“

Grimmjow shut the door, cutting off the rest of the recorded message. He moved to the center of another underground space; this was a smaller dimension tacked on to the one containing Urahara’s shop. As they found isolated areas that Aizen hadn’t destroyed yet, the shopkeeper and Shinji would add them in in order to preserve them. They were also the only way anyone could train while the camp was in the underground facility.

The revizard glared at the massive waterfall in front of him. The entire space was comprised of a few miles of jungle, with a mid-sized waterfall in the center. Drawing his sword, Grimmjow leap on the rocks to stand directly under the fall’s flow. He proceeded to thrash the water by going through various sequences, but it soon dissolved into violent, erratic slashes, most of which hitting the rocks behind the fall. 

“We had to convince him to stay, too, you know.”

Grimmjow froze, mid-swing, then lowered his sword and turned around. Urahara was smiling behind his fan, sitting on dry rock a few feet down. 

“…what?” he asked, panting. Urahara snapped the fan shut.

“We had to convince Ichigo not to leave, either,” he said. “He was all gun-ho about going to save Tiamut, giving me and Shinji an earful for it, but it wouldn’t do any good, you know?”

“… che,” Grimmjow said, sheathing his sword and ignoring the question. Urahara gave his fellow captain an apologetic look.

“People think the worst feeling is failing to do what they want,” he said. Grimmjow looked at him sidelong, and Urahara looked into the distance. “But it’s not. Being able to do nothing… that is much worse.”

“… it’s frustrating as hell,” Grimmjow said, jumping down next to the older man. Urahara chuckled.

“Well, don’t worry. Shinji-taichou and I will have her back as soon as possible,” he said. Grimmjow seriously regarded the other man, then sighed.

“I know,” he said. “I just-“

“I know,” Urahara said. “Do what you can, and try not to think about it.”

“… whatever,” Grimmjow said, jumping down the waterfall in leaps and bounds. Urahara sighed, then shook his head as he opened his fan again.

“How did I get stuck with so many stubborn kids…?”

***

Grimmjow returned to the camp completely soaked. He walked through quietly, making his way to his own tent. At the entrance, he paused. He sighed. Then he pushed the flap back and walked in slowly.

“Hey… I’m sorry. Earlier…”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not,” Grimmjow said seriously. From where he was looking over paperwork, Ichigo turned to meet his gaze. “I was angry, and I crossed the line.”

“Grimmjow, it’s fine,” Ichigo said, just as serious. “I understand.”

“…che,” Grimmjow said, then smiled ruefully. “Are we gonna argue about apologies, or are you just gonna shut up and accept mine?”

“… alright, apology accepted,” Ichigo said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he returned to his paperwork. Grimmjow sighed, the smile disappearing. He walked further into the dark tent, specially made to block the light from outside. He sat back to back with Ichigo, and leaned against the other slightly. For a long time, they were quiet.

“Do you think she’s ok?” Grimmjow asked. Ichigo paused, sighing so softly it was almost unnoticeable. 

“She was raised by you, wasn’t she?” he asked. 

“That’s not an answer.”

“I know.”

“…can you lie to me?”

“No.” Ichigo shifted, and Grimmjow let the leader of the resistance turn. Strong hands wrapped around his waist, and Ichigo rested his forehead against the revizard’s back. “But I can tell you the truth. Tiamut is a strong, stubborn as hell woman who won’t die until she’s good and ready to.”

Grimmjow snorted softly, but didn’t say anything. 

***

Urahara sighed.

“You weren’t expecting to find her in one night, were you?” Akon asked. 

“Easy for you to say,” Shinji said, frowning. “You don’t have two punks kids jumping down your throat.”

“I think they’ll calm down now,” Urahara said, smiling. Shinji rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, until something else goes wrong,” he said. He glared at the screen in front of him. “Why did she have to try and fix things herself…?”

“It’s in her nature,” Urahara replied. “At least she’s not here…”

“We don’t know if she’s somewhere worse,” Akon pointed out. Shinji shifted his glare to the one armed lab assistant.

“Aren’t you cheery?” the captain said. Akon shrugged.

“I’m realistic,” he replied. Urahara chuckled.

“Sometimes being cheery is more important,” he said, standing. The other two looked at him. “I’m going get some fresh air.”

“If Jeagerjaques or Kurosaki even think about getting close to here, kick their asses out,” Shinji said, returning to his screen. Urahara simply pulled out his fan, striding out of the tent housing the remnants of the research department’s work. He walked for a few steps before turning to look over his shoulder.

“And if you decide to give us any trouble, I’ll just tell Grimmjow you’ve been sleeping with his sister,” he said, smiling. After a moment, Ulquiorra stepped out of the shadows.

“I haven’t been,” he said, keeping pace with the captain. 

“I know that,” Urahara said. “It might take Jeagerjaques-taichou sometime to realize it, though.” 

“… you are an interesting man,” Ulquiorra said, face never showing emotion.

“As are you,” Urahara replied. “Sulking in the shadows instead of simply asking if we’d found her yet.”

“Would you rather I were beating down the door to run off to nowhere?” Ulquiorra asked. Urahara chuckled.

“I suppose not. You could still ask,” the man said. Ulquiorra made no response. 

“Schiffer-fukutaichou, could you come see to Ukitake-taichou?” a former member of the medical squad asked, jogging up to them.

“I will be there momentarily,” Ulquiorra said. He inclined his head to Urahara. “Until later, Urahara-taichou.”

“Until later,” Urahara said, amused at the level of formality. As Ulquiorra left with the younger shinigami, the shopkeeper sighed and shook his head. “So many stubborn kids…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are explanations for everything, I assure you. Eventually, I will get to them.
> 
> FYI, Grimmjow's hair is as long as it is in his released state, and Ichigo's hair is long as final getsuga. Urahara wears his shihakusho again.


	3. Cannonverse

“So your name is Tiamut Bast,” Rukia asked. Tiamut, looking bored, drummed her fingers against the table.

“For the one hundredth time, yes,” she said. Rukia glared. After a full night’s rest, the captains had decided to have Rukia fill out a full report on the mysterious revizard. However, with the girl’s hallow reiatsu and vehement refusal to go anywhere near Mayuri-taichou, there was no reason for them to bring her to Seireitei. So Rukia had traveled back to Urahara’s shop. The former shinigami had loaned the two a room in the back, where Rukia was conducting her interview. Compared to the day before, Tiamut was much less cooperative.

“And you come from another dimension,” Rukia continued. 

“I guess,” Tiamut said, throwing her hand up briefly before drumming the table again.

“Will you please stop that?” Rukia asked, writing down the girl’s answers. Tiamut huffed a sigh, but pulled her hand back.

“How long is this gonna take?” she asked. She’d been staring at the door since the interview began.

“It won’t take long if you cooperate,” Rukia replied. Tiamut scowled.

“I don’t do this paperwork shit,” she said. “There are so many better thing to do with my time…”

“Bast-san, we’re only trying to help,” Rukia said, trying to keep her own temper in check.

“And I already told you everything I know, okay?” Tiamut said. “You know what, fuck this. I need train.”

“What? Where are you going? You can’t just-“ Rukia stood as Tiamut jumped up and headed to the door. The purple-haired revizard grinned over her shoulder.

“If you can beat me, I’ll come back,” she said. Rukia gaped, then grimaced as Tiamut waltzed away. She didn’t come to fight. But, she needed to get the paperwork done before she could return to Seireitei, and if the only way to do it was to teach this upstart a lesson, then so be it.

Rukia followed Tiamut to Urahara’s underground training ground. The shopkeeper joined them as well, seeming more curious than anything else. Tiamut skipped to the center, then whirled on her heel. Her feral grin was familiar as she squared off against the older woman. Rukia sighed, drawing Sode No Shirayuki. 

“When you are ready,” Rukia said. Tiamut snorted, then moved.

Rukia barely had time to bring her zanpakuto up to block the kick aimed for her head. Tiamut twisted and used the blade to jump away. She spun in the sand, sweeping at Rukia’s feet. The shinigami jumped to avoid it, turning her sword to bring it down on the revizard. Tiamut jumped back, then ran to the side and come in at Rukia’s side. Drawing her zanpakuto, Tiamut slashed, forcing Rukia to twist and parry. Tiamut twisted their blades around each other, stepping forward to aim a punch at Rukia’s face. The shinigami ducked, then pushed up to get Tiamut off balance. Rukia simultaneously twisted the sword out of the girl’s grip. Tiamut did a back flip to keep her feet, and then jumped forward in a ball, barreling into Rukia’s torso. 

Tiamut twisted to kick off, forcing Rukia to drop Sode No Shirayuki at the same time. Rukia rolled to her feet, panting. She watched Tiamut warily, and the girl returned the look with a grin. Taking a risk, Rukia went for her zanpakuto. Tiamut dove at the same time, barely missing kicking Rukia in the back as the shinigami grabbed her sword and rolled to her feet. Tiamut took the opportunity to grab her zanpakuto as well. The two faced off again, but this time Rukia watched the girl with intensity. Tiamut suddenly sighed.

“What?” Rukia asked. 

“Well, it’s just,” Tiamut started, and before Rukia could move, the girl had moved behind her. “This is too easy.”

Rukia whirled, swinging her zanpakuto, but Tiamut grabbed her wrist and put her sword to Rukia’s throat. She frowned, then let the shinigami go.

“I win, I guess,” she said, walking off. She looked at the shopkeeper. “Oi, what about you?”

“Hm? Me? But I’m just a humble, sexy shopkeeper,” he said. Tiamut made a face.

“Eh? What’s that?” she asked. “My ears are specially trained to filter out lies; all I heard was shopkeeper.”

“Oh, you think you’re clever, don’t you?” Urahara asked, chuckling. Tiamut grinned.

“Come on, one round won’t kill you,” she asked. Urahara looked between the revizard and the shinigami.

“What deal did you make with Kuchiki-san to get her to fight with you?” he asked. Tiamut blinked.

“Eh? Well, I said I’d be good and fill out all the paperwork she had…”

“Well, then…” Urahara said, stepping forward and folding his fan. “If I win, you must honor that promise.”

“Che, whatever you say, old man,” Tiamut said, pointing her sword at the shopkeeper. “Bring it on.”

***

“Any family members?” Rukia asked. Tiamut, holding a bag of ice on her head, sighed softly.

“Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, brother,” she said. Rukia glanced up. Tiamut stuck out her tongue. “Close enough.”

“Alright,” Rukia said, writing it down. “And how did you get here?”

“Pure fuckin’ magic,” Tiamut said. Rukia sighed.

“You can just say you don’t know,” she said. Tiamut rolled her eyes, but kept further comment to herself. Rukia glanced up at the girl from her writing. She wasn’t surprised Urahara had won; of course not. What had surprised her, however, was that the man had had to work for it. Who was she, this girl who could keep up with such a powerful shinigami?

“Hey, you got more questions or what?” Tiamut asked, snapping Rukia from her thoughts. 

“Ah, yes… you said as a revizard, you were infused with the reiatsu of shinigami, yes?” the woman asked. Tiamut blinked.

“Uh… yeah. So?” she asked. 

“Can you tell me anything more specific?” Rukia asked. Tiamut opened her mouth, then scowled. She looked off to the side and huffed. 

“I don’t want to,” she said. Rukia pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Bast-san-“

“Tiamut. No one fucking calls me Bast,” Tiamut said. “Well, Schiffer does, but that’s different.”

“Fine, Tiamut,” Rukia said. “I understand this may be difficult for you, but the Soul Society needs as much information as possible to-“

“Hitsugaya Toshiro.”

“Eh? Hitsugaya-taichou?” Rukia asked, surprised. Tiamut heaved a sigh.

“I don’t know how those bastards did what they did, but I do know this…” and here she looked at Rukia. “I was infused with the reiatsu of Hitsugaya Toshiro.”

“Ah…” Rukia was too stunned to speak. Tiamut rolled her eyes and looked away.

“Grimmjow was infused with Kuchiki Byakuya’s reiatsu, Schiffer was infused with Unohana Retsu’s reiatsu, and Szayel was infused with Kyouraku Shunsui’s reiatsu.”

“…what?” Rukia finally found her voice, though it was feeble and broke in the middle.

“See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you…” Tiamut said. Rukia cleared her throat, then swallowed.

“That… I don’t understand… how could something like that be possible?” she asked. Tiamut gave her a look.

“Two mad scientists with free reign. You do the math,” she said. Rukia sighed. Then she grabbed her report and stood.

“I need to report this right away,” Rukia said. Tiamut nodded, laying back on the floor.

“Figured as much…” she said, yawning. Rukia watched her a moment, then sighed and left the room. She opened a gate and swiftly returned to Seireitei. Her first order of business was to report to her captain.

“Ah, Kuchiki-san, you have returned,” Ukitake said, smiling warmly as she entered. Rukia sighed.

“Early, I fear,” she said. Ukitake blinked, then his gaze grew hard.

“What happened?” he asked. The woman proceeded to explain what Tiamut had told her. Ukitake nodded, then thought. After endless, quiet moments, he seemed to come to a decision. 

“I’m going to report this to Captain Commander,” he said, rising. “He’ll decide what to do from there.”

Rukia nodded, leaving as her captain did. It was an hour later that a meeting of the Gotei 13 was called. The lieutenants met in a separate room, where Rukia reluctantly told them what the meeting was for. Meanwhile, inside the meeting, Ukitake gave his report to the other captains.

“Shit, I didn’t think it would something like that…” Shinji said, crossing his arms.

“Well, I guess it makes sense…” Kyouraku said. “Since it would be impossible for hallows to make shinigami reiatsu on their own.”

“Well, yeah, when you put it that way…” Shinji conceded.

“It’s till unforgivable!” Kensei said.

“There isn’t much we can do about it, though,” Roujuurou pointed out. “It’s hardly the girl’s fault this happened to her.”

“If anything, you should blame to person who did it to her…” Kyouraku said, mostly to himself. Everyone paused, then slowly turned their heads to look at Mayuri. The man snorted.

“I’ll admit it’s an interesting experiment, but I can hardly believe it’s anything close to stable,” he said. “Given the circumstances of this supposed ‘resistance’, I could see why I might dabble in such a thing, but without such an extreme situation, I might dissect such a creature, but I wouldn’t create one.”

“…that’s so comforting,” Shinji said, eye twitching slightly. Then something occurred to him. “Hunh, what do you think of all this, Hitsugaya-taichou?”

The room grew quiet as they realized Hitsugaya had yet to speak. Suddenly, all eyes were on the little captain. Toshiro seemed to be lost in thought, and it took a moment before he realized he’d been addressed. He looked up at everyone in the room.

“What?” he asked. 

“I asked what you thought of all this,” Shinji said.

“Oh,” Hitsugaya said. He looked around the room, then shrugged. “I reserve my opinion.”

“What?” Kensei asked. “How can you say that? She has your reiatsu!”

“And I haven’t even seen her yet, so I won’t judge her just because of something some other Mayuri did,” he said, irritated. 

“Then why don’t we set up a meeting or something?” Ryouraku said, drawing the attention of the room. “I mean, we should probably ask her, too, but I don’t see why we shouldn’t…”

“Hitsugaya-taichou?” Ukitake asked. “It’s your choice.”

“… fine,” he said, looking off to the side. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted to meet this mysterious person claiming to have his reiatsu, but the captains who had met her seemed to believe she was telling the truth, and he would take their word. Besides, there was still a part of him that wondered if she were really telling the truth or not, and there was only one way to find out…

***

Rukia returned to Urahara’s shop at the completion of the meeting. She was accompanied by Rangiku, who was to confirm that Tiamut did, in fact, have Hitsugaya’s reiatsu. Rukia sighed, knocking on the front door. She hoped the girl was in a better mood now than she had been earlier…

“Hm? Ah, Kuchiki-san, Matsumoto-san, are you here to see Tiamut-chan?” Urahara asked, opening the door himself. Rukia blinked. That, in itself, was an odd occurrence.

“Yes, we are,” Rukia said. Urahara chuckled.

“Ah, well, you see… she kind of… ran off to Heuco Mundo…?”

“What?” Rukia asked. Urahara sighed, ushering them in.

“I thought you were watching her…” Rangiku said. Urahara shrugged.

“I didn’t know she had the ability to open garganta on her own,” he said. “Or, rather, she had a device on her that could open them…”

“Huh? What kind of device?” Rangiku asked. Urahara pointed to his wrist.

“A type of special brace,” he said. “Apparently it needed time to charge before she could use it again, or she probably would have left earlier…”

“Well, this is a mess,” Rangiku said. “Now how am I supposed to figure out if she has Toshiro’s reiatsu or not?”

“… I think we should go after her,” Rukia said. Rangiku blinked.

“What? Do you already like her that much, Kuchiki-san?” she asked. Rukia sighed.

“She an obnoxious brat and a pain in the ass, but…” Rukia sighed. “She stuck in an unfamiliar world, separated from her only family and can’t even do what she’s been training to do. It’s not so much that I like her that I understand.”

“… well then, what are we waiting for?” Rangiku said, grinning. Urahara blinked in surprise, then smiled.

“Would you ladies mind if I tagged along?” he asked, leading the way to the underground training grounds. Rukia smiled.

“Not at all. Besides, she seems to like you more than me,” she said, following.

“Why do you think she went there, anyways?” Rangiku asked. Rukia sighed.

“I have an idea…”

***

Inside Heuco Mundo, Tiamut sniffed. He was close. The reiatsu was weaker than she was used to, but since she had felt Byakuya’s reiatsu before, she could distinguish Grimmjow’s with minimal difficulty. She knew he wouldn’t be the same. His reiatsu spoke as much. But…

She sighed, looking around. At least she could see what he was like, without….

She shook her head. No! She was not going to think like that!

Resolute, she kept walking. And, eventually, she found him. He was sitting against a tree, restlessly asleep. Tiamut opened her mouth to say something, then, slowly, closed it. For a while she stood and stared. Then, huffing a sigh, she turned and walked away.

Something things, she decided, were better left alone.

Or at least, it sounded better than ‘I chickened out’.


	4. Alterverse

“Did you locate her yet, Tousen?” Aizen asked. He stood on the balcony of his tower, wearing a white suit while overlooking the ruins of the world he owned. Tousen moved to stand behind him.

“No. It appears she attempted to create a garganta from within a garganta,” he said. Aizen, smiling, took a sip from his glass.

“Ah, so we couldn’t track her to the base of the ‘resistance’,” he said, the last word lightly mocking. Tousen was silent a moment. 

“It seems she was successful.”

Aizen paused, then slowly turned. The pleasant smile didn’t falter. 

“Go on.”

“We do not know the full details, but at the moment she activated her brace, there was a surge of power inside the garganta,” Tousen said. “Ilforte reports seeing the other side for a few seconds before being repelled by the power of the garganta.”

“And what did he see?” Aizen asked, taking another sip of his drink.

“…Kurosaki Ichigo as he was before your reign,” Tousen said. Aizen froze. Then he chuckled, letting the drink rest in his hand. There was no rail to the balcony, or he might have set it down. 

“And you believe this?” he asked. Tousen shook his head.

“No. But the recording device he was wearing caught the image as well.”

“I want to see this footage.”

“Of course,” Tousen said, pulling a small screen from his robes. He handed it over to former captain, and Aizen watched without comment. Indeed, the few seconds of film showed that idiotic revizard activating her brace, and there was a surge of darkness. The very air around the girl seemed to shimmer, then rip as if being clawed apart. The light was blinding for a moment, but then it toned down enough to see as the girl fell through the hole, a teenaged Kurosaki Ichigo standing with a shocked expression. However… Aizen replayed the tape, face blank. Yes, the second time through confirmed it. His shihakusho was different, and not even the Ichigo currently resisting him wore a robe like that. 

Suddenly, Aizen smiled. 

“Tell Ilforte he is to report to me right away,” he said. Tousen nodded, then turned to enter the tower. Aizen turned, once again admiring the view of his world. He didn’t have to wait long before the nervous Arrancar forced himself to walk onto the balcony.

“You asked for me, Aizen-sama?” he asked. Aizen decided not to look at his minion. Ever since his ascension, the vast majority of them acted pathetically skittish around him, and he wanted his questions answered swiftly as possible.

“Yes, about your report on the revizard girl going through an alternate garganta...” Aizen started. He heard Ilforte gulp. “Tell me, what did you sense about the Kurosaki Ichigo in the portal?”

“Ah, what did I…? I don’t understand, Aizen-sama,” he said. Aizen shook his head. Of course not, he wasn’t at that level.

“Was there anything different about him? Besides his age,” the overlord asked. Ilforte looked to the side, thinking.

“Not really… stronger. More like… weaker, if I had to say anything, but it was hard to tell with all the energy flying around,” he said. Aizen nodded. 

“That is all,” he said, turning to dismiss the Arrancar. Then he tilted his head. “Ah, you’re Szayel’s brother, aren’t you?”

“…y-yes, Aizen-sama,” Ilforte said, taking an involuntary step back. Aizen tossed his drink over the edge of the balcony, taking a step forward to match. Ilforte stared in horror, sweat forming at his temples. 

“Did you know there’s a mole in this tower, Ilforte?” Aizen asked. Ilforte was frozen in place as the former shinigami moved to stand only inches away from him. His breath was shallow; Aizen was letting some of his reiatsu leak, and it was suffocating.

“…n-no, Aizen-sama,” he said. Aizen kept his pleasant smile, and Ilforte gasped.

“How unfortunate,” Aizen said casually. Blood leaked from one corner of Ilforte’s mouth; a bloody gash went from his sternum to his naval. “I was hoping you would be of more use, since you’re the most obvious member of the group. But no matter, I’ll weed the rest of you out soon enough.”

Ilforte’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell backwards. Aizen sighed, smiling as he adjusted his tie. 

“Tousen, throw him into the void, would you?” he asked the air. Tousen appeared from the shadows, noncommittally kicking Ilforte’s body over the side of the balcony. The man then approached Aizen, who leaned against his desk, fiddling with one of the resistance brace’s. There were three more on the desk.

“These braces are really quite remarkable,” Aizen said. “The combined efforts of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Urahara Kisuke and Szayel Aporro Grantz. Even we haven’t uncovered all their secrets yet.”

“Aizen-sama?” Tousen said. Aizen turned the brace in his hands.

“We have discovered how to use them to create garganta, however, we still have yet to uncover the coordinates of their little dimension. No matter,” he said. “Tousen, gather Nnoitra, Halibel, Tesra and Vega. I’m intrigued by what happened to the revizard nuisance, and would like to see if the experiment can be repeated.”

“… yes, Aizen-sama,” Tousen said, flash stepping from the room. Aizen waited patiently. It was Nnoitra and Tesra that arrived first; they must have been close.

“Tousen said you called?” Nnoitra asked, looking bored. Aizen thought nothing of it.

“Yes, I have a special mission for you,” he said. 

“Yeah? What’s so special about it?” Nnoitra asked. Aizen tossed the brace to the Espada, and then a second one to his fraccion.

“Put those on. Your mission is actually twofold,” Aizen said, watching as Nnoitra looked the brace over before slipping it on. “First, you are going to perform an experiment for me. You are going to activate a garganta from within a garganta. Don’t worry, I’ve already set the coordinates.”

“And the second part?” Nnoitra asked. Aizen tilted his head, still smiling.

“After completing the first task, you are going to eliminate Halibel and your fraccion,” he said. Tesra flinched, but then composed himself. Nnoitra grinned.

“Fine with me,” he said. Aizen nodded, and then Ggio Vega appeared. The Arrancar was given the primary mission, as was Halibel when she arrived. 

“Now, Aizen said, leading the four unto the balcony. “Tesra, when you have completed your first mission, you are to kill Halibel and Vega. Vega, you are to kill Nnoitra and Tesra. Helibel is to kill Vega and Nnoitra.”

“What? What bullshit is this?” Nnoitra asked. Aizen smiled, opening a garganta.

“Of you four, only two are loyal. However, at least one more is a sympathizer, and the other is a smuggler. This is a test of your loyalty. Whoever survives, wins,” he said. Then he waved them to the garganta. “Now, on with your mission.”

“… che, fuck,” Nnoitra said, storming into the garganta. Tesra followed after.

“This seems like fun!” Vega said, skipping behind. Halibel gave Aizen a long look, then walked into the garganta. Aizen watched as they activated the garganta on the braces. No one bothered to hide their familiarity with the item. This was no test of loyalty; it was a death sentence. Aizen was not expecting them to return… at least not together, if at all.

Power poured out of the garganta as four holes ripped through like the inside of a thunderclap. He watched as the four Arrancar were pulled into their respective holes, all views of the world before he had taken over. Or so it would seem. 

As the rips in the garganta closed, Aizen closed the original garganta. He turned and strode to his desk, sitting elegantly. He pulled a screen from the surface of the desk. When he powered it on, it showed four separate cameras. Aizen leaned back, watching the show begin.

***

Nnoitra sighed as he looked around. It looked like he was in Heuco Mundo. How. Wonderful. 

“…what?”

Nnoitra flinched and whirled at the soft exclamation. Standing a ways off were a group of three he recognized. He narrowed his eyes. Something was… off. It was definitely Rukia, Urahara and Rangiku, but they seemed… weaker. And almost… younger?

And then they pulled out their swords. Oh, wonderful.

***

Halibel landed lightly on her feet. She looked around with a critical eye. She had no idea where she was, but it was next to a river. And… she took deep breath. Human world. She sighed, then started walking. She at least needed to get out of the open…

***

Vega landed in the middle of a dojo. He looked around, glad it was empty at least. Well, not really, since it was kind of boring, but it was probably better no one saw him… or that he hadn’t landed on anyone. Except it was then the door to the dojo opened. Vega sighed in relief when he realized it was just some human.

“Hey, you!” 

Vega flinched, then looked at the black haired chick again.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing dressed up like that, but the dojo is closed, so scram!”

Vega blinked, then titled his head.

“You can see me?” he asked. The girl blinked.

“Of course I can, weirdo!” she said, aiming a kick at his head. Vega dodged. 

“Huh, interesting,” he said.

***

Tesra felt like he had been shot from a gun, and fell straight through a roof. He panted a moment, and sat up. Only to be greeted with a sword to his throat. He looked up to see Kenpachi-taichou grinning down at him.

“Huh, I could’ve sworn I killed you…” he said. Tesra felt his blood run cold. “And yet here you are, breaking into my office…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i guess i'll put it to a vote. who should have the next chapter: nnoitra, tesra, halibel or vega?

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure where this really came from, but... it happened. Eventually it will go into more detail about the alterverse, and there will be various flashbacks into it. At one point there will be a very long flashback explaining what "went wrong" in the alterverse, but that'll be a while. For now, meet Tiamut, and know that in the alterverse a lot of people died. Like... a lot. But I'll get to that.


End file.
